Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ), a card issuing platform that enables embedded finance solutions, this week unveiled its Marqeta Flex solution. Marqeta Flex addresses the way BNPL loans can be delivered inside payment apps and wallets, surfacing them at the moment of need within an existing payment flow.
Marqeta Flex is being developed with global payment providers Klarna and Affirm and payments platform Branch. Branch plans to integrate the solution into its payments app for W-2 and 1099 workers.
“Marqeta Flex is about building upon the transformational impact that Buy Now, Pay Later has had over the last decade, and helping consumers access these options intuitively from inside an even greater range of payment experiences,” said Simon Khalaf, Marqeta’s chief executive officer. “We are excited to partner with industry-leading BNPL players Klarna and Affirm in the space to give consumers more choice in how they pay for every transaction they want to make.”
The company said Marqeta Flex is poised to bring even further syndication to the BNPL space. Supporting some of the largest BNPL solutions and card issuers today, Marqeta believes it is uniquely positioned to recognize the opportunity for expanded BNPL distribution and how it allows for enhanced payment capabilities and greater consumer choice.
The intended benefits of Marqeta Flex for consumers, payment providers and issuers include:
- Consumers: Consumers will be guided to the BNPL options that can meet their needs. They get access to personalized BNPL options inside of the payment apps they use most often.
- Payment Providers: It expands distribution, allowing payment providers that offer pay-over-time options to benefit from even greater access to consumers and higher transaction volumes.
- Card issuers and digital wallets: Marqeta Flex allows wallet and card issuers to drive payment volume by incorporating multiple BNPL offerings into the transaction experience that can be customized to user preferences. With a single integration they’ll have access to a variety of global BNPL providers, increasing the speed at which they can build and launch card solutions that offer flexible payment methods, including custom and user-friendly BNPL loan options.
“We’re thrilled to be building this with Marqeta and innovating how BNPL can be applied,” said Ahmed Siddiqui, chief payments officer at Branch. “We look forward to giving the workers we serve even greater payment access and choice.”
